Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Trivial History January 2

Good morning all you splendiforous bodies !Let's raise our cups of tea and coffee to the lovely cool change of the weather...unless of course you're still working your way through that bottle of absinthe Great Uncle Rupert gave you...?

The chooks have celebrated the day by laying eggs again and chasing the galahs and neighbours' cats from the yard... although the two are interchangable.

A little birdie tells me The Astor Theatre was recently purchased for use by 2 doctors for St Michael's School for art use, consulting rooms and, not to fret, the theatre will continue as usual, I'm told.Let's just hope the students don't end up performing surgery during The Rocky Horror Picture Show...

It is the 8th day of Christmas and rumours tell me the 8 maids a'milking were sent by your true love just for their cows' other production...for his roses.

1808 John Singleton, GP, benefactor and supporter of women in medicine, was delivered by the stork. Click HERE to read more and have a gander at the portrait of this kindly gent.

1830 Henry Kingsley, novelist, was hatched. Although he spent only a few years in Australia on the Victorian goldfields and as a police trooper, his experiences in Australia influenced his novels, especially The Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn. Read more HERE

1837 the Supreme Court of South Australia was established five days after the founding of the colony.Eager little beavers, weren't they!

Oddspot-A woman who ran an orchard in the early 1900's kept an enormous pet tarantula called Peter (as you do) which she allowed to freely roam the house to kill flies.In winter she hand-fed him cake and bread crumbs and he lived behind a picture frame but always came when she called his name.

1838 John Conway Bourke left Melbourne to take the first mail overland to Sydney, meeting a Sydney mailman at Yass...with nary a dog in sight to bark at them.

1878 First telephone service in Australia took place when a store on Spencer Street, Melbourne, McLean Brothers and Rigg, spoke with an office in Elizabeth Street.Probably asking if they had anymore absinthe in stock for Great Uncle Rupert.

Ghost spot-Each year in Spring around Rosedale a phantom cart appears,rattling along the road with the horses lathered in sweat as the driver frantically cries out to them to hurry faster. Just when they begin to cross a bridge the horses balk and then everything tips into the river below - but there's never anything or anyone to rush to rescue.

1881 Cornelius Connell, jockey, racehorse trainer and owner who learnt to ride like Paterson's Man From Snowy River on his fathers high country leases near Cooma, was born. Read more of this decent bloke HERE

1891 Inspired by his mother's scolding of "Oh Larry, go fly a ruddy kite", Australian aviation pioneer Lawrence Hargrave flew in a kite for a period of 14 seconds, for a distance of eight metres.Look Ma, no hands !

1891 Jim Gerald, ' a big eared rubber-boned droll clown and Australia's best pantomime dame' was found in the cabbage patch.The world's first circus performer to loop the loop on a motorbike, Jim also made over 30 films in USA. Read more about one of our earliest comedians HERE

Great Aunt Hepzibah's Handy Hint-When cooking highly odourous foods on the stove top sprinkle cinnamon into the pan immediately after you've finished cooking and this will leave the house smelling nice of spice!

1904 Oh you opera music fans are incorrigible ! At the Exhibition Building in Melbourne opera singer Ada Crossley and Australian composer Percy Grainger were greeted by 20,000 fans. Mosh pits were banned, of course

1929 A visiting British Economic Mission recommended a policy of deflation by reducing government developmental works. Yep, been using that policy around the house for years but it doesn't seem to work...

1952 Graham 'Shirley' Strachan, lead singer with Aussie band Skyhooks, was pupped.

1985 Australia's first women-only surf lifesaving carnival took place at Sydney's Queenscliff beach. Sisters are doin' it for themselves...and every beach-goer every Summer.

Grandma Mehitabel's Menu-Gluten-free Tomato Sauce.Mix 1 tbls of arrowroot with a 400gm can of tomatoes in a saucepan.Heat gently,stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Add basil, parsley or herbs of choice.

Readers might also notice the double-click Answer tips are now enabled on each page.Double click any word and see what happens.Go on....you know you want to...